Kershaw is 12-0 in his past 16 starts against NL East opponents. Among pitchers to make at least 10 starts against the division since 2011, nobody has a better record than Kershaw (12-1) and only Jose Fernandez has a lower ERA or opponent batting average than Kershaw’s 1.70 and .181.

Kershaw is also 4-0 with a 1.17 ERA in his past four starts against the Nationals.

How they won (Kershaw)

Kershaw averaged 92.8 mph on the 51 fastballs he threw on Tuesday. That's significant considering he averaged 88.3 mph on the 57 he threw in his Opening Day start against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Kershaw did give up eight hits with his heater but got good use out of his breaking balls, against which the Nationals were 1-for-10 with seven strikeouts.

Kershaw threw 76 percent strikes, his highest strike percentage in any start in his career.